...and ask both sides to weigh these factors in deciding their support. I'm going to consider those questions and post a follow-up later.

But in the meantime, I have another question for my conservative friends: Do you support Bush's Iraq adventure enough to accept a tax increase to pay for the entire cost of the war (and yes, that includes reconstruction, the bribes incentives we're paying allies like Turkey, and the expenses of the planned extended occupation). And doesn't it say something that Bush isn't even willing to put an estimate of those costs in his budget, let alone propose how to pay for them? In other words, for all his rhetoric, couldn't one draw the conclusion that Bush's tax cuts are a higher priority to him than his war plans? (I know, not really, 'cause he plans to put it on the credit card anyway...)